This invention relates to a clip assembly for adjustably attaching a cladding to a vehicle.
Cladding or panels are commonly used on vehicles. The panels can be made of plastic material or of sheet metal. The panels are attached to the vehicle structure using a variety of methods. If the panel and the structure are compatible, the panels can be welded to the vehicle. However in many cases, the panel is plastic and the vehicle structure is metal requiring the use of adhesives or fasteners.
Claddings are also provided with exterior design features, such as styling lines and trim pieces. The design features must be aligned in order to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the vehicle. Thus, the fasteners must enable the cladding to be adjusted relative to an adjacent panel or cladding.
In the prior art, a number of different fasteners have been used to attach a plastic panel to a metal vehicle structure. Examples of such fasteners include: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,529,244; 4,607,877 and 5,429,412. Although the prior art fasteners allow a degree of adjustment, the assemblies are relatively complicated to assemble and install on the vehicle.
The disadvantages of the prior art may be overcome by providing a simple clip assembly which allows the cladding to be easily and quickly installed and then adjusted as desired.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a clip assembly which mounts a cladding panel to a body structure. The clip assembly includes a clip and a key guide. The clip has a head and a shaft. The head is adapted for attaching to a support flange of the cladding panel. The key guide has a hollow body sized to receive and retain the shaft of the clip. The key guide is configured to be inserted into a slot on the body structure and upon rotation is slidably retained within the slot.
According to another aspect of the invention, the body structure is provided with a series of guide slots and a pilot aperture. The guide slots are radially spaced from the pilot aperture and have a major axis which extends tangentially from the radial extent of the pilot aperture enabling the cladding to rotated relative to the body structure about the pilot aperture.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of assembling a cladding to sub-assembly to be incorporated into a vehicle. The method includes steps of providing a sub-assembly having a pilot aperture and at least one elongated slot. A key guide is provided into each of the pilot aperture and the at least one elongated slot. A cladding is provided with a support flange. At least two clips are provided on the support flange. The clips are positioned to engage a corresponding one of the key guides. The clips are inserted into the corresponding keys guides to a first engagement position retaining the cladding on the sub-assembly and enabling the cladding to be rotated about the key guide in the pilot aperture, whereafter the cladding can be fixed to the sub-assembly.